


Ode to the Fallen

by eternalsession



Category: Pokemon Rejuvenation
Genre: anyway i wanted to rewrite this, because theres only so much you can do with 8 bit graphics, none of these characters have last names so i cant tag them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 05:27:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4379003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalsession/pseuds/eternalsession
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is gospel, for the fallen ones,<br/>Ne'er-do-wells, insufferable bastards,<br/>Locked away in permanent slumber.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Ode to the Fallen

**Author's Note:**

> This is gospel, for the fallen ones,  
> Ne'er-do-wells, insufferable bastards,  
> Locked away in permanent slumber.

His name was Axel. A black youth with a knack for quick thinking and always being able to find a solution out of any problem. He was typically known for being upbeat and positive, and, above all, strong enough to be depended on in a pinch. If you ever needed a job done reliably, or you felt you needed back up for a mission, you went to him first.

So why is it that now, of all times, he finds himself helpless? Let’s rewind a bit.

\--

“So…,” Axel says to the wall across from him. “Today’s the day, huh.”

“That’s pretty unlike you, Axel.” The wall replies. “You were pumped about it yesterday.”

“Well, yeah. I was thinking about being able to go home. And then I remembered I don’t even know how to get back. Maybe being able to see some friends that I’d made. Or even just hang out that’s not in a prison. Still, a pretty daunting task.”

“I’d say,” Says the wall, in a different voice. “Three minutes until go-time. Are you sure you’re really ready, Axel?”

“I sure hope so,” He says, voice unsteady. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”

The wall speaks again, in a third voice. “C’mon, Axellllll. You’re supposed to get fired up! How am I supposed to get into character without your fiery passion to heat us all up?”

Axel laughs a little, then lets out a great hearty laugh, and pulls out his Pokeball and sends out his Pyroar in a blaze of fire, then mounts, sitting sideways on his Pokemon.

“You’re right, Saki! How awfully out of character I am!” He roars, getting into character and burning down his cell doors.

“Awwww, _HELL YEAH!!_ ” Saki (owner of the third voice) shouts, and Valarie (owner of the second voice) chuckles and blasts down the door with a powerful Ice Beam coming from Lapras. In a flurry of fire and ice, the entire hallway full of guards is annihilated before even having a chance to react to the maelstrom of elements blasting their way. Adam (owner of the first voice) trails behind them, careful not to step in the blazes left by Pyroar.

After having cleared the initial hallway and busting out into the first room they could locate, they all paused on their mounts and took a moment to regroup. Axel spoke first.

“I’m going to find Aelita. You held me back before, but this time I’m really going to kill that slime.” He says, rage churning in his eyes. Adam hops off of Saki’s Manectric and puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Revenge is not the answer, Axel. Besides, don’t you think Aelita is a little more angry at him, than you?”

“That’s not the point! The point is tonight, Neved dies.” Axel reiterates. Adam just shrugs.

“Alright. Do whatever you want. Me and Saki will go south. I’ll take point.” He says, beckoning Saki.

“Toodaloo!” Saki says, flashing a peace sign, and disappearing in a flash of light. Valarie points to the door behind Axel.

“The elevator’s inside that room; be careful. I’ll go west. Meet me back outside. You’ll probably take longest. Really, though… try not to kill him.” Valarie says, and then storms off on Lapras.

Axel mutters a “No promises,” beneath his breath, but not in time for her to hear it.

\---

Twenty minutes later, Axel shows up late to meet Valarie and the others.

“Where’s Aelita?” Valarie asks. Axel hops off of his Pyroar and pets his mane. “She wanted to have her fun with him, looks like. She’ll be here. Where’s Madame X?” He asks, leaning back on his Pyroar’s side.

“Should be here within thirty minutes, but… no boat, or boat signs in sight.” Saki says, slightly worried. Adam places a comforting hand on Saki’s shoulder, and it seems to work a little.

“...Oh, shit! Where’s my mom?” Axel says, jumping up. “I got a little hasty in my lust for revenge.” He says, biting his lip. “Thanks, Adam.”

Adam nods in recognition. Nancy, Axel’s mom, stands up (apparently she was drawing in the sand) upon hearing her son’s voice, and he runs to hug her.

“MAMA!!” He says, shedding a tear while hugging her. “I thought you were dead…” He says, voice breaking. “I thought I’d lost you for good…”

“It’s okay, Axel. I’m here for you. It’s gonna be okay.” She says, returning the hug, and playing with his hair. “My, you need a hair cut. I hardly recognized you like that.”

“I guess I do, huh? Are you gonna cut it again?” He asks her.

“Well, it’s that and… You’ve grown, haven’t you?” She asks. “You look like you’ve been through a lot.”

Axel scratches the back of his head and goes to lean back on a Pyroar that isn’t there. Thankfully, Pyroar comes running to his side, and catches him, but he’s still embarrassed. “You could say that, yeah.” He says, a little mellow. Nancy smiles at him.

“If you keep up like that, pretty soon you won’t even need me!” She laughs.

“Hey, don’t say that! You know I’m a mama’s boy!” He retorts, laughing.

“How cute.” Says a voice from afar. Sounds like it’s covered by a mask. “While I’d love to stick around and hear a mother-son-reunion conversation, I really need some answers. Like, say, what the _fuck_ is going on here?”

Axel, hopping over his Pyroar and sending out a Charizard to back him up, analyzes the situation, and comes to a horrible conclusion: This is Madame X. Madame X didn’t come by boat. _Madame X came by Yveltal._

“...Aww, hell.” Saki says, quietly, all coming to the same conclusion.

“What’s going on!? Aren’t you supposed to be arriving by boat? With bodyguards to do all your legwork for you!?” Valarie shouts, taking a step towards her.

“I asked my question first. What, the fuck, is going on on here?”

“We busted out of your shithole! We found the device that sends out the signal that makes our pokeballs not work, and we stormed the place!! Now, answer our question!” Saki says, on edge.

“No. And don’t speak again, _worm_.” She says to Saki, then, before she can do anything else, a present is dropped from the sky.

“...What is the meaning of this?” Madame X asks, and everyone simply shrugs.

“Psssst. Pssssssst. Hey. Hey you. Madame X, right?” The presents asks. Madame X is in shock. “I have a secret to tell you. Do you wanna hear it? I bet you wanna hear it, huh. Of course you do.”

“Out with it.”

“If you hurt any of my friends,” Says Nim, bursting out of the present in a gale of wind, “I’ll kill you.” She says, and then turns her gaze behind her, glaring at Valarie. “That goes for anyone else on this island, too!”

“You can’t kill me, child.” Madame X retorts, but Nim isn’t having it.

“One plus one is two!” She says, and then doubles. “Two plus one is three!!” And creates a third clone of herself. “And with the power of three, we can withstand anything, can’t you see!?” They all say at the same time. “Nims, hold her in place!!” Nim says, and Madame X freezes in place. Turning her back, she wipes her hands against each other and smiles, taking a step toward Axel. “Aaaaand, the deed is done. Good work, Nims. No one hurts Axel on my watch!” She says, laughing.

“Aren’t you all just a bunch of fucking cuties.” Madame X says, breaking Nim’s hold on her.

“Uh-oh.” Nim says, taking a step back.

“Three minus one is two.” She says, unsheathing her katana. Suddenly she’s right next to the Nim on the right, and that illusion is shattered.

“Oh… oh no. This is bad.” Says Nim. Madame X appears on the other side, breaking that illusion too.

“Two minus one is one.” She says, and teleports to the front. “And one minus one is--”

“Togekiss, Aura Sphere!!” Calls a familiar voice. Axel turns around immediately. “ _Melia!_? No, it can’t be… she’s dead.” He says, forlorn. Immediately, Madame X is blown back into the wall of the prison. Nim is shaken up, and Axel rushes to her side.

“Nim! Are you alright?” He asks.

“I’m fine… thanks to that. Did you do that?” She asks.

“ _WHO DARES!? YOU MOCK ME BY ATTACKING FROM AFAR INSTEAD OF UPFRONT!? SHOW YOURSELF, COWARD!_ ” Madame X roars.

“I think the point of being a coward is that you don’t show yourself. Kind of defeats the purpose, don’t you think?” Saki says.

“I said silence, worm.”

Before Saki can respond, Melia drops down and lands gracefully. “Me.”

“...You! You’re--”

“MELIA!?” Axel cries, shocked.

“Aww, you remembered me. I’m _so flattered_!!” She says, grabbing the collar of Madame X’s shirt.

“Unhand me!”

“You’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble, Madame. You know that, right? So that’s why I’m here… to end your reign.”

“Oh, really? Your words, they… hold substance, I see. No longer the meek girl you used to be?”

“Shut up.”

“I knew you were alive this whole time. I could feel it in my bones.”

“STOP TALKING!”

“Pitiful. Even if you were to be able to defeat me-- fat if-- there would be no way for you off of this island.”

“You really do underestimate all of your opponents, don’t you?”

“That doesn’t mean--”

“Yeah. Yeah it does. It’s one of yours, might I add. Can you give a little kiss to Eli and Sharon for me?” Melia smiles, and shoves her back into the groove placed in the wall by her body.

“Im-impossible!”

“It sure is. While you were playing your little game with Nim, I loaded everyone on board. Speaking of, everyone should get boarded. I’ll deal with her here.”

“Foolhardy child. You have planned far further ahead than I have, but still manage to end up right in our grasp. And I will not let you escape again.”

Melia turns to Axel. “Axel, it really is me. We have a lot to speak about, but not now. Now, get going!”

“...Alright.” He says, and grabs Nim’s arm and tells everyone to get going. Saki, Adam, and Valarie manage to escape, but before Nim and Nancy can get on, they’re interrupted.

“Such _insolence_! Those who do not _bow_ to my will shall be _crushed_ by it! By the sharpness of my blade, Senketsuken, I will obliterate all who defy me!” She says, and moves faster than the eye can see. And then, quieter. “And I don’t recall giving you permission to leave.”

“Axel!!” Melia cries, but she’s too far away.

In an act of selflessness, Nancy shoves Axel out of the way, and takes the blow for him, leaving her with a sword impaled through her back. She coughs up blood, and it spatters all over Madame X’s chest piece.

“MOM!!” Axel cries, reaching out to her, but is held back by Nim.

“I… wish for nothing more… than…,” she says, taking heavy breaths. “Nothing more than your survival. For you to live on, for me…. and your father… This is my last request…. So, please….” She says. Madame X picks her up on her blade, and flings her aside, face down on the grass.

“Tch. She got my favorite uniform bloody. Not to mention she babbled on about nothing. What a meaningless endeavor. She sacrificed herself to save _you?_ I’ve never seen such a weak-hearted human. Only people with power can change the world, but what power do you have when you’re _dead_ , huh? I thought people as simple as Nancy knew that, but, I guess you really do learn something every day.” She shrugs and shakes her head. “So be it then. Her sacrifice was meaningless. And now… My blade will cleave _you_ in two next.”

 

“My mom… her sacrifice… wasn’t for nothing!!” He shouts, sending out all six of his pokemon at once. “She wasn’t just some worthless human being!! You don’t _need_ power to change the world!!! _You need love_!! What type of kingdom ever thrived on being scared of it’s ruler!? What type of world would we be living in!? And you… you don’t have that! You don’t have anything! You don’t know what it’s like! You wouldn’t know what it’s like to watch your mom be killed in front of you!! Because not everything hinges on power you slimy _fuck_! Without compassion how will you ever get anywhere!? What good is a world without people to rule in!? I’d sooner die before ever having to listen to you!! And, so, I’ll beat you _right now_!” Axel retorts, and soon they’re in an all or nothing brawl of Pokemon. In a storm of heat and emotions, Axel manages to take down her Yveltal, but at the cost of losing all of his pokemon. Eyeing her belt, he notices 5 more pokeballs. He’s lost.

She lets out a cackle, throwing her head back and even clenching her stomach. “How pathetic. You’re so incredibly weak, I could cry. You cannot withstand my might.”

“We may not be able to withstand it, but we can hold it back for a minute! Nim, now!!”

“R-right!!” She says, and freezes Madame X long enough for Axel and Nim to get out of there. Melia stays behind, but only because Axel can’t get her to agree to let him stay. Also because he’s out of Pokemon.

Making their way to the ship, Axel is silent. Nim can’t bring herself to say anything to him. Once they make it, Valarie is sitting at the entrance, telling them to hurry. Nim boards immediately, and Aelita shows up soon after.

“I’m ready to go.”

“Ah, Melia! I’m glad to see that you’re safe!!” Valarie says, and lets her on the boat. “Where’s Nancy?”

Axel says nothing, but shakes his head somberly.

“...Oh. I’m-I’m so--”   
“Forget it. Melia should be here in a moment.” He says, and steps onto the ship, then crashes into the first room he can find, and plasters a piece of tape with his name on it on the door.

 **  
** “I’m never leaving again.”

**Author's Note:**

> hey yall i did another thing  
> im gonna be doin an oc story soon ish but i really wanted to pop this one out because i saw the scene and i wanted to do more with it  
> everyone go check out pokemon rejuvenation/reborn!! they're really good made by some cool people  
> -dmetri


End file.
